I have been using Linux as my daily driver for quite some time (around 5-6 years) and usually manage to get whatever needs to be done. However, I now wish to learn it in a more structured manner, which includes understanding utilities and the workings of Linux. What resources should I look out for?
Highly recommend this wargame challenge from over the wire. It makes you think and also feels like hacking. Youre just using linux commands to find passwords but the skills transfer to heaps of usage across systems. It can be a little beginner-ish though.
https://doc.opensuse.org/documentation/leap/startup/book-startup_en.pdf
The best pdf imo
https://fr.linuxfromscratch.org/view/lfs-stable/
To know what the standard packages do
I would look for something interactive e.g LFS but in containers (or VM or WASM VM) with checkpoints with instructions, something risk free yet hands on.
Not for books.
i will add that using something like arch linux is unironically good to get a feel for how it clicks together without doing it all from complete scratch.
despite the usual stability caveats (and please do backups), it is a daily-driveable system you can learn on.
I’m honestly kicking myself for using arch instead of something without systemd.
I used Arch to learn Linux and ended up just learning systemd really well.
you can use many init systems on gentoo and its also good for the purpose!
If you’re a near absolute beginner then Linux Journey is a good place to start.
If by chance you understand German this is an excellent beginner course: https://www.math.uni-bielefeld.de/~frettloe/teach/unix20.html otherwise I would grab a book; but I have no specific book to recommend. However, to name some I found interesting after a quick search:
- How Linux Works: What Every Super-User Should Know
- The Linux Command Line
